Fighting has to go

[Grover]

So true. Getting brain damage is part and parcel of playing in the NHL. If players don't want to fight to uphold the honor and respect of their teammates, if they don't want to do their job which is entertaining us like monkeys, then they should play soccer instead.

If it's so dangerous then why do actual NHL players want to keep it in the game?

 

[KCC]

No. Planned face off fights have to go. It serves zero purpose. But if a game is filled with high emotions and two guys after a whistle have had enough and go at it. Absolutely fine.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

I wouldn't miss fighting one bit if it was gone. Especially the scripted stuff. I get excited as anyone else over a fight involving an emotional situation but seriously, it's archaic.

 

[Taluss]

Ugh not this shit again.

Fighting will always have its way in NHL. Its fine, deal with it.

You dont like it? Dont watch it. Nobody is making you

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

If it's so dangerous then why do actual NHL players want to keep it in the game?

Because it keeps a class of players in the game that wouldn't be there otherwise.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

okay so I guess we just take a aspect out of the game thats been there for over 100 years because the odd time someone gets injured because of it.... seems completely pointless.

I mean if fighting doesn't even have a stronger track record of head injuries that hitting does. then why take it out?

these guys want to be there. all those enforcers if given the chance would be back doing the exact same thing 100% so whats the point?

There's a reason they make the big bucks.

I would rather see enforcers back 100% into the game. they patrolled the ice. ref wont put an end to the consistent torment of our star players. the players we pay to watch. the enforcers put an end to it.

Maybe we would have gotten to see an injury free Crosby if they stayed. but no... we booted them from the game and the best player in the world got injured year after year by bums.

take fighting 100% out of the game and the rats will take over the game and they will bash and beat our stars. there's nothing our players can do to protect them.....

Sound like a great plan

Great stuff!

It's fun to watch as well. Let the faux moralists pile on

 

[Grover]

Because it keeps a class of players in the game that wouldn't be there otherwise.

Is Sidney Crosby that class of player? He's been in multiple fights. Enforcers don't exist anymore and they were phased out naturally

 

[Taluss]

Because it keeps a class of players in the game that wouldn't be there otherwise.

Even if those class of players werent in the game there would still be fighting. Maybe not as much, but it wouldn't eliminate it.

 

[Laus723]

I said jump up and cheer, if 100% of the people in the arena are standing up because of a fight, it is mainly because the people in front of them are standing up and they do not want their view obstructed, as far as people who start cheering and going crazy when 2 guys are dropping the gloves and are about to go, I am guessing they are not a real hockey fan

lol ok.

 

[sting101]

How about let the PA decide. They play the friggen games. If they are ok with it en masse then people should just shut up and stop putting their interests ahead of the one's who have to deal with it.

And lol writing a essay on that we need to placate the more sophisticated and wealthy......disgusting

I like it and see entertainment value in it but would be ok if they voted annually on it. I mean the goaltending position has changed massively due to the PA wanting to let the goalies decide what is safe.

 

[Sparksrus3]

It can stay stupid. Just take out the fighting, there's no slippery slope here. People have died because of this, Boogaard, Rypien, Belak, Probert... You can't take all the risk or violence from the sport but taking out fighting wouldn't change ice hockey all that much but would reduce the possibility of brain injuries. There are young players like Svechnicov whose only concussion came from a fight. There's no need for that.

so you prefer the Tom Wilson’s of the world or the slashers and cross checkers to just continue to do their thing without consequences. Fighting helps police the game from within the ranks . If you “ can’t take all the risk or violence from the sport “ you must leave fighting .

If you want your results it all has to come from the way the refs call the game . No letting things go. There would be a period of time where lots of penalties will be called then the game will settle in as Ice Capades with sticks.

I understand and can appreciate your view so don’t attack like a pit bull. Have a great weekend .

 

[eviohh26]

Fighting is great till someone gets hurt. I donno how i feel about this one. I cant see hockey without fighting but i can certainly see the argument made against fighting.

 

[StevenF1919]

Kassian isnt in the league if fighting was banned. Personally I dont mind a good fight from bad blood. Staged fights or fights from clean hits I can do without. Hockey is a physical sport, lets not turn it into figure skating.

That's a pretty good argument to ban fighting if you ask me.

 

[Snatcher Demko]

Yeah I was watching this game and saw the fight live. Even as they talked about throwing down at the faceoff I thought it was dumb.

I have been watching NHL hockey since the 1980s. I loved fights and often still think a fight can play a role. But this was completely pointless and I felt bad not only for Kassian for his concussion but also for MacEwan thinking he has to fight to make the club. I'm tired of Green for (amongst other reasons) putting MacEwen in this position.

I have changed my view on fights over the years and the penalties for fighting should be stiffer.

 

[Richard]

People that argue that fighting is part of hockey clearly only watch North American hockey because it's not part of the game in Europe or in international competitions and they do just fine without it.

Just give an automatic one game suspension for fighting and you'll weed it out. People will still fight when it's actually something that deserves to fight about but you won't have these stupid staged fights

As europe proved in the last century--- its not big on self defense....

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Go watch another sport, seriously

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Is Sidney Crosby that class of player? He's been in multiple fights. Enforcers don't exist anymore and they were phased out naturally

Ever ask Sid if he wanted to do it? 'Cause that was the question I was answering (why do some players want fighting in hockey).

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

It can stay stupid. Just take out the fighting, there's no slippery slope here. People have died because of this, Boogaard, Rypien, Belak, Probert... You can't take all the risk or violence from the sport but taking out fighting wouldn't change ice hockey all that much but would reduce the possibility of brain injuries. There are young players like Svechnicov whose only concussion came from a fight. There's no need for that.

Fighting has changed. Staged goonery is gone. You really think a player is more likely to be concussed in a fight than a heavy hit?

I'd be shocked if that is Svechnikov's only concussion as well after a career of hockey.... there are also many variables involved to say "fighting killed players"....

 

[Perennial]

I'm all for mutual combat, so if 2 people want to fight each other, so be it...

But I think it makes the NHL look bush league that the punishment for 2 players interrupting a game to punch each other in the face is only a 5 minute timeout

Players should be kicked out of the game and face suspension for fighting...

1st fight is a 1 game suspension. 2nd fight is a 2 game suspension. 3rd fight is a 3 game suspension, etc...


What I'm not all for are on-ice attacks...

I think players who step outside the agreed upon rules of the game to commit a heinous assault should face criminal prosecution...

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Quite right, excellent post and thread idea.

In a similar manner to the laughably overwrought reaction of some to the Phoenix Coyotes relaxing their stodgy dress code rules, there is a certain cohort of regressive hockey "fans" who want to vainly cling to an atavistic interpretation of what is important in the sport. I put fans in quotes because it frequently seems they care less about the actual playing of the sport itself rather than sideshow aspects - fighting, "class" (wearing suits, short hair, and other 1950s nonsense), buffoonish commentators like Don Cherry and Mike Milbury - which tend to have little or no bearing on the fundamentals: who scores the most goals, who wins the games. It's viewing hockey primarily through a lens in which it's a vehicle to promote a very niche cultural packaging, specifically some sort of blue-collar/farmboy romanticism that has no bearing on how elite athletes are developed and trained in modern society.

The obsession with fighting and its (complete lack of) causual impact on the game is one of the most obvious expressions of this. Which is why the verbiage that surrounds it is so obviously puerile: it's all about proving who's "manly" and "hard" and separating them from who's "soft" and "girly". For the crowd that peaked in high school - which, I suspect, has a lot of overlap with the crowd that prioritizes fights over the actual game play - this is perhaps expected. But as professional sports continue to embrace a more intellectual and modern approach to the game play itself through optimization of strategies, through training and nutrition that aims to produce the best athletes, and through cultivating a wealthier, more educated, more sophisticated fanbase, these sorts of attitudes will be increasingly seen as fringe, long out-of-date, and regressive in terms of the direction in which they would take the sport. Thankfully, the dinosaurs are dying off.

Cringe.

 

[Sheppy]

Cringe.

You beat me to it. I read that and was like "Who is this trying to impress"

 

[Grover]

Ever ask Sid if he wanted to do it? 'Cause that was the question I was answering (why do some players want fighting in hockey).

Yeah I think he wanted to do it..do you think he would be forced to or something? Hockey is the one sport where raw emotion can affect the game more than any other sport..Even Gretzky dropped the gloves once. Fighting is in the game for a reason

 

[Whiston532]

I know I said that the “Coyotes getting rid of the dress code” was the most full of insecurities and projection I’ve seen something in a while but I forgot how people get when fighting gets brought up.

im not 100% against fighting by any means, but this discussion always goes sideways quick.

 

[My3Sons]

The most violent man on man sport short of MMA and the like has to be the NFL. 300 plus pound guys mauling each other each play. Despite the eye gouging and groin grabbing and the other assorted low blows, they don't fight. Once in a very blue moon and they are immediately ejected and typically after a single punch. If those guys can keep it together NHL players can as well. Something tells me if the league actually disciplined thugs who cheap shot other players there would be less call for vengeance and vigilante justice. Fighting isn't going away anytime soon but if NFL players don't need to fight I don't think NHL players need to fight. Fans want them to fight which is different.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

The most violent man on man sport short of MMA and the like has to be the NFL. 300 plus pound guys mauling each other each play. Despite the eye gouging and groin grabbing and the other assorted low blows, they don't fight. Once in a very blue moon and they are immediately ejected and typically after a single punch. If those guys can keep it together NHL players can as well. Something tells me if the league actually disciplined thugs who cheap shot other players there would be less call for vengeance and vigilante justice. Fighting isn't going away anytime soon but if NFL players don't need to fight I don't think NHL players need to fight. Fans want them to fight which is different.

You cannot compare the sports. The pace of play and surface on which they play are apples and oranges. If anything, hockey is the sport with more reason to fight.